In Giant Stone City, within the City Lord's mansion, Yan Shengjing and Zhou Tianyi sat in high seats. Yan Yuan, the City Lord, stood beside them, observing with a respectful demeanor. Heads of various factions sat on either side, drinking and laughing, creating a lively atmosphere.

In the center of the hall, a dozen beautiful women danced gracefully to the music, filling the hall with laughter.

"Yan Yuan," Yan Shengjing said, glancing at the middle-aged man beside him.

"Old Ancestor!" Yan Yuan turned around and bowed respectfully.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the once deeply wrinkled face of the Old Ancestor had softened considerably, with his dry skin now glowing with vitality, appearing much younger.

"Recently, we have hunted down four disaster-level and twelve city-destroying magical beasts, with significant gains, largely thanks to your coordination. This magic crystal from a city-destroying beast is bestowed upon you. Next, both I and Brother Zhou will need more high-level magical beast sightings. You know what to do, right?"

Yan Yuan took the magic crystal, sighing internally. "Returning to the Old Ancestor, the high-level magical beasts near Giant Stone City have been completely hunted. The Lingchuan Prefecture is vast, and those beasts act unpredictably; it will be challenging to find their traces in the short term..."

"Unpredictable?" A cold glint appeared on Yan Shengjing's face as he threw a storage bag. "Set up this formation at the four city gates, and those beasts will come on their own."

Yan Yuan, puzzled, accepted the storage bag and examined its contents. Most were formation materials, but a particular book caught his attention.

"Human Pillars?!"

Yan Yuan's expression changed. Noticing the Old Ancestor's icy gaze, he swallowed the words he was about to say and took a deep breath. "I will follow the Old Ancestor's orders. Yan Yuan will handle it right away!"

Yan Shengjing's expression eased slightly. "Go then."

"Yes!" Yan Yuan bowed and retreated, ignoring the inquiring gazes from the surrounding factions.

Outside the hall, Yan Yuan halted, his hand trembling slightly as he clutched the storage bag. His heart turned cold as he recalled the records about Human Pillars.

Human Pillars were a second-tier formation originating from the Wusheng Demon Sect. The sole purpose of this formation was to amplify and spread all energies within it. It had another name: "Ten Thousand Pillars."

To maximize its effect, five thousand living beings had to be sacrificed within the formation. Four formations meant two hundred thousand lives. The overwhelming life energy would attract magical beasts within a thousand-mile radius, likely leading to a feeding frenzy. At that point, they might end up being devoured instead.

The enormous Giant Stone City could hardly withstand such a calamity, Yan Yuan lamented inwardly. The magic crystals from city-destroying beasts could extend the lifespan of a Grandmaster by one to two years, while disaster-level beasts could do so by ten to fifteen years. However, these crystals were not naturally produced; they formed by absorbing massive life essences.

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A disaster-level beast, akin to a Grandmaster, would need to devour tens of thousands of people to condense a magic crystal. While guarding against magical caves, there were casualty quotas to harvest these crystals for the elite, but that was a hidden rule. This time, however, the Old Ancestor was brazenly sacrificing lives for magic crystals...

"Has the Old Ancestor gone completely mad...? Is he willing to disregard everything just for a few extra years of life?!"

Yan Yuan felt lost. The Great Yan was personally established by the Old Ancestor, yet now he treated the five to six million people in Lingchuan Prefecture as fodder, completely shattering Yan Yuan's principles. If word of this got out, they would lose all support, effectively severing their roots.

At that moment, a cold snort echoed in his ears, filled with hidden power, causing him to grunt and tremble internally. Yan Yuan sighed inwardly, realizing that his hesitation had drawn the Old Ancestor's ire.

He then ordered his subordinates to gather formation masters to execute the Old Ancestor's commands.

In the hall, Zhou Tianyi chuckled. "Yan's younger brother has a shred of compassion, quite rare for a governing talent."

Hearing this, Yan Shengjing coldly snorted. "Governing talent? Utterly naive! As a royal member, he actually sympathizes with those lowly commoners."

"Does he not realize that if I were to fall, and the supreme Grandmaster is no longer here to guard, how long could the Great Yan survive?"

"At that point, they would be invaded by other nations, and the death toll would be far greater than this..." Yan Shengjing dismissed the foolish remarks, raising his glass. "Brother Zhou, let's drink!"

"Brother Yan, the magical disaster encompasses the entire prefecture, and we might see the emergence of despair-level magical beasts. We should plan ahead..." Zhou Tianyi said, hinting at something.

Yan Shengjing's eyes lit up, his heart racing. "Despair-level... Grandmaster... extend lifespan by three to five hundred years!"

Yan Shengjing narrowed his triangular eyes, revealing a ruthless glint. "Brother Zhou, do you have any advice?"

"It's not so much advice, but a reminder for you to prepare early. We can't handle despair-level magical beasts, but we might be able to exchange something good for them..."

"Brother Zhou is thoughtful; I admire that!" Yan Shengjing interrupted, lifting his glass and inviting him to drink.

Zhou Tianyi smiled subtly, both men seemingly cordial but each with their own calculations.

"Cheers...!"

"Cheers...!"

...

Two days later, at Qingling Sect.

On the short stone steps, Li Sheng opened his eyes, and sharp buzzing resonated around him. As he contained his aura, the buzzing gradually faded.

Stepping down the stairs, he noticed his waiting junior sister and raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Junior Sister, you've broken through?"

"I broke through this morning," Bai Ye lifted her delicate chin slightly, looking proud.

"That's truly double happiness!" Li Sheng exclaimed with delight.

"Brother, don't be too happy yet; check the Xuan Stone Space!" Bai Ye said, her smile fading into seriousness.

"Xuan Stone Space?" Li Sheng muttered, pulling out the Xuan Stone and probing with his consciousness.

On the walls of the room, four pieces of information made him momentarily dazed. Just two days in seclusion, and so much had happened.

First: The magical disaster level has risen to despair level; all below Grandmaster are advised to evacuate quickly.

Second: Two despair-level magical beasts have appeared in Giant Stone City, devouring over six million lives within, with only a handful of survivors.

Third: The encirclement and assassination mission failed, resulting in the death of one Grandmaster.

The Great Yan's Old Ancestor, Yan Shengjing, was heavily injured, while the Hongyu Holy Land's Old Ancestor, Zhou Tianyi, was severely wounded and missing.

Fourth: News from the alliance states that the Grandmaster from the Divine Martial List will descend upon the Great Yan, urging members of the Reverse Demon Alliance to evacuate the magical disaster area quickly.

"Besides the one affecting Senior Sister, there's another despair-level magical beast..."

"The assassination mission failed, despite thorough preparations. Could it be a setup...?"

"Despair-level beasts... a Grandmaster descending, a storm is brewing..."

Li Sheng sighed, calming himself as he exited the Xuan Stone Space.

"Brother..." Bai Ye called softly, worry etched on her face.

"Don't worry; I'll handle everything," Li Sheng reassured her, heading towards the Black Tower.